Proactive Re-Routing Of Vehicles Using Passive Monitoring Of Occupant Frustration Level

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the present disclosure include a navigation system and computer-implemented methods for proactively re-routing vehicles based on an analysis of input component data obtained from the navigation-enabled devices. The navigation system scores the input component data to obtain a measure of frustration (e.g., a feeling of being upset or annoyed) of the user of the navigation-enabled device. The navigation system may provide a detour suggestion for display on the navigation-enabled device to persuade the user of the device to direct their vehicle to depart from its current location or route in an effort to remove the vehicle from traffic, and thereby reduce the frustration level of the user. The detour suggestion may include an alternative route to the original destination, or an alternative destination.

PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priorityto U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/352,658, Entitled “PROACTIVERE-ROUTING OF VEHICLES USING PASSIVE MONITORING OF OCCUPANT FRUSTRATIONLEVEL”, filed Mar. 13, 2019 which claims priority U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/651,658, Entitled “PROACTIVE RE-ROUTING OFVEHICLES USING PASSIVE MONITORING OF OCCUPANT FRUSTRATION LEVEL”, filedJul. 17, 2017 which claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/983,000, entitled “PROACTIVE RE-ROUTING OF VEHICLES USING PASSIVEMONITORING OF OCCUPANT FRUSTRATION LEVEL,” filed on Dec. 29, 2015, whichis hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This subject matter disclosed herein generally relates to navigationsystems. In particular, example embodiments relate to proactivere-routing of vehicles based on occupant frustration levels determinedthrough passive monitoring of input components of in-vehicle devices.

BACKGROUND

Modern navigation systems provide users with possible routes to theirintended destinations and, in many cases, can suggest certain optimalroutes such as the route with the shortest distance or the route thatwill take the least time in light of traffic considerations. A drawbackof these modern navigation systems is that the widespread proliferationof their use results in a large number of vehicles travelling along thesame paths, which results in heavy traffic congestion along those paths.Further, once traffic flow slows down on primary paths such as highways,other secondary paths such as surface streets also end up becomingcongested with traffic because the navigation systems end up routingsubsequent vehicles along those paths. This sort of reactionaryre-routing results in inefficient load balancing of traffic, and thus,additional delays for occupants in vehicles trying to reach theirintended destinations.

To aid vehicles and their occupants in avoiding heavy traffic, somenavigation services allow users to manually report location specifictraffic disruptions such as accidents, construction, road closures,police speed traps, and other traffic causing incidents, which are, inturn, provided to other users. However, allowing users to generatereports frequently leads to inaccurate information because of incidentalerror or intentional deception. Moreover, allowing users to generatereports of these sorts often leads to duplicate reports, which leads tooverutilization of computational resources, and as a result, theperformance of the navigation service is compromised.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various ones of the appended drawings merely illustrate exampleembodiments of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit itsscope to the illustrated embodiments. On the contrary, these examplesare intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents asmay be included within the scope of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a network diagram illustrating a navigation system having aclient-server architecture configured for exchanging data over a networkwith a navigation service, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating various functional components ofa navigation server, which is provided as part of the navigation system,according to example embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a data architecture diagram illustrating an example useraccount record, which is a data structure stored in a database of thenavigation system, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method for proactive rerouting ofa vehicle traveling to a destination location using incentives,according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method for proactive rerouting ofa traveling vehicle based on a frustration level of a vehicle occupant,according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method for determining afrustration level of a vehicle occupant based on input component data,according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method for scoring input componentdata, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a method of obtaining a detoursuggestion for use in proactive rerouting of a traveling vehicle,according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a method of obtaining a detoursuggestion for use in proactive rerouting of a traveling vehicle,according to an alternative embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a method for reporting a trafficdisruption event based on vehicle occupant frustration level, accordingto an example embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating a method for verifying an existingtraffic disruption report, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating a method for detecting a trafficdisruption event based on vehicle occupant frustration level, accordingto an example embodiment.

FIG. 13A is an interface diagram illustrating a user interfacedisplaying a current route to a destination location, according to anexample embodiment.

FIG. 13B is an interface diagram illustrating the user interface updatedto display an alternative route notification, according to an exampleembodiment.

FIG. 13C is an interface diagram illustrating the user interface thathas been further updated to display the suggested alternative route,according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 14A is an interface diagram illustrating a user interfacedisplaying a current location of a vehicle and a detour suggestionincluding an alternative destination, according to an exampleembodiment.

FIG. 14B is an interface diagram illustrating an updated user interfacethat has been modified to display a detour route to the alternativedestination, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the exampleform of a computer system within which a set of instructions for causingthe machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussedherein may be executed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to specific example embodiments forcarrying out the inventive subject matter of the present disclosure. Inthe following description, specific details are set forth in order toprovide a thorough understanding of the subject matter. It shall beappreciated that embodiments may be practiced without some or all ofthese specific details.

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to a network-based navigationsystem including a navigation-enabled device in communication with anavigation server over a network. The navigation server forms part of anavigation service that provides various navigation functions to itsusers (e.g., human users). Users of the navigation service may includeoccupants of both manned (e.g., human driven) vehicles and unmanned,autonomous (e.g., machine driven) vehicles. Accordingly, it shall beappreciated that the subject matter of the present disclosure is notlimited to manned (e.g., human driven) vehicles, and may, in someembodiments, find application in unmanned, autonomous vehicles.

In example embodiments, the navigation system seeks to reduce trafficflow along primary navigation routes (e.g., routes with relatively shorttravel times) by proactively re-routing vehicles to alternativenavigation routes (e.g., routes with relatively longer travel times).The navigation system may re-route vehicles by providing the alternativeroutes to navigation-enabled devices contained in the vehicles (e.g.,either embedded in the vehicle itself or carried by a vehicle occupant).Upon detecting the vehicles traveling along alternative routes (e.g.,using location information provided by the navigation-enabled devicecontained in the vehicles), the navigation system transfers an amount ofvalue (e.g., currency or reward points) to user accounts of occupants ofsuch vehicles. The amount of value provided to occupants of vehiclestraveling along the alternative routes are obtained from occupants ofother vehicles that are traveling along the primary route. In this way,the navigation system incentivizes vehicle occupants to direct theirvehicles to travel along alternative routes instead of primary routes,thereby reducing traffic on primary routes.

Additional example embodiments involve proactively re-routing vehiclesbased on vehicle occupant frustration levels. More specifically, in someexample embodiments, the navigation system provides detour suggestionsto navigation-enabled devices based on an analysis of input componentdata obtained from the navigation-enabled devices. The input componentdata may, for example, include audio data from a microphone, motion datafrom a motion sensor, or heart rate data from a heart rate sensor. Thenavigation system scores the input component data to obtain a measure offrustration (e.g., a feeling of being upset or annoyed) of the user ofthe navigation-enabled device. Because the user of thenavigation-enabled device is an occupant of the vehicle in which thenavigation-enabled device resides, the scored input component data islikely to provide a measure of the frustration level of the user as itrelates to being in traffic. The navigation system may provide a detoursuggestion for display on the navigation-enabled device to persuade theuser of the device to direct their vehicle to depart from its currentlocation or route in an effort to remove the vehicle from traffic, andthereby reduce the frustration level of the user. The detour suggestionmay include an alternative route to the original destination or analternative destination. In instances in which the detour suggestionincludes an alternative destination, the detour suggestion may furtherinclude a monetary incentive such as a coupon that is applicable to abrick-and-mortar retail location corresponding to the alternativedestination.

Additional example embodiments involve detecting traffic disruptionevents based on vehicle occupant frustration levels. More specifically,in some example embodiments, the navigation system identifies trafficdisruption events based on an analysis of input component data obtainedfrom navigation-enabled devices of vehicles near a particular location(e.g., vehicles in the same proximity). Traffic disruption events areevents such as accidents, construction road closures, police and speedtraps, or road hazards that cause a decrease in the flow of trafficalong a particular route and thus, added time delays for occupants ofvehicles traveling along those routes. The navigation system scores theinput component data associated with each vehicle (e.g., input componentdata obtained from a navigation-enabled device in the vehicle) andaggregates the scored input component data to obtain a frustration scoreassociated with the vehicle. The navigation system may detect trafficdisruption events based on a number of vehicles near a particular areahaving associated frustration scores above a certain threshold. Thenavigation system may further use the detected traffic disruption eventsto verify existing user submitted traffic disruption reports bycross-referencing location information associated with each usersubmitted traffic disruption report.

FIG. 1 is a network diagram depicting a navigation system 100 having aclient-server architecture configured for exchanging data over a network102 with a navigation service 104, according to example embodiments.While the navigation system 100 is depicted as having a client-serverarchitecture, the present inventive subject matter is, of course, notlimited to such an architecture, and could equally well find applicationin an event-driven, distributed, or peer-to-peer architecture system,for example. Further, to avoid obscuring the inventive subject matterwith unnecessary detail, various functional components that are notgermane to conveying an understanding of the inventive subject matterhave been omitted from FIG. 1. Moreover, it shall be appreciated thatalthough the various functional components of the navigation system 100are discussed in a singular sense, multiple instances of any one of thevarious functional components may be employed.

As shown, the navigation system 100 includes the navigation service 104in communication with a mobile device 106 and a third party server 108over the network 102. The navigation service 104 communicates andexchanges data with entities within the navigation system 100 thatpertain to various functions and aspects associated with the navigationsystem 100 and its users. These data exchanges may include transmitting,receiving (communicating), and processing data to, from, and regardingcontent and users of the navigation system 100.

The navigation service 104 includes a navigation server 110 to provideserver-side functionality, via the network 102 (e.g., the Internet), toclient devices such as the mobile device 106. The mobile device 106 maybe operated by users, such an occupant of vehicle 107, who use thenavigation system 100 to navigate the vehicle 107 to destinationlocations. The vehicle 107 may be a manned or unmanned, autonomousvehicle, and thus, the vehicle occupant may be a driver or passenger whouses the navigation service to navigate a manned vehicle or passengersof an unmanned autonomous vehicles that utilize the navigation service104 to provide navigation instructions to an embedded computer systemresponsible for directing the movement of the unmanned autonomousvehicle. The vehicle 107 is not necessarily a part of the navigationsystem 100 but is associated with the mobile device 106 as the mobiledevice 106 may either be embedded in the vehicle 107 or carried by anoccupant of the vehicle.

The mobile device 106 may be any sort of navigation-enabled device(e.g., smart phone, tablet computer, or global positioning system (GPS)device) that includes one or more locations components (e.g., GPScomponents) for determining its location, and a mobile navigationapplication 112 specifically designed for interacting with thenavigation service 104. For example, a vehicle occupant (e.g., a driveror a passenger) may use the mobile navigation application 112 executingon the mobile device 106 to navigate to a destination location using aroute provided by the navigation service 104. The mobile navigationapplication 112 further provides graphical user interfaces (GUIs) thatinclude elements such as maps and directions to aid users in navigatingto destination locations. The mobile navigation application 112 may, insome embodiments, when executed by the mobile device 106, configure themobile device 106 to perform any of the methodologies described herein.

Turning specifically to the navigation service 104, the navigationservice 104 includes the navigation server 110 and a database 120. Insome embodiments, the navigation service 104 may include an ApplicationProgramming Interface (API) server and/or a web server coupled to (e.g.,via wired or wireless interfaces) the navigation server 110 to provideprogrammatic and/or web interfaces respectively to the mobile device106. The navigation service 104 may, in some embodiments, also include adatabase server coupled to the navigation server 110 to facilitateaccess to the database 120. The database 120 may include multipledatabases that may be internal or external to the navigation service104.

The navigation server 110 hosts one or more applications such as aserver-side navigation application that provides navigation services tousers (e.g., vehicle occupants) who access the navigation service 104.For example, a vehicle occupant may use the mobile navigationapplication 112 executing on the mobile device 106 to obtain one or moreroutes to a destination location from the navigation server 110. As afurther example, the navigation server 110 may provide data to themobile device 106 to suggest that the vehicle occupant re-route thevehicle from a primary route to an alternative route. In some instances,the navigation server 110 provides such data based on a frustrationlevel of the vehicle occupant determined from input component data(e.g., sensor data) received from input components (e.g., sensors)embedded in or coupled to the mobile device 106.

The database 120 stores data pertaining to various functions and aspectsassociated with the navigation system 100 and its users. For example,the database 120 stores maps and routing data to aid in navigation. Thedatabase 120 further stores traffic disruption report data includinguser submitted traffic disruption reports and machine generated trafficdisruption reports. The database 120 also stores and maintains useraccount records for users of the navigation service 104. Each useraccount record is a data structure that includes information thatdescribes aspects of a particular user. Further details regarding anexample account record stored in the database 120 are discussed below inreference to FIG. 3.

FIG. 1 also illustrates a third party application 124 executing on thethird party server 108 that may offer information or services to thenavigation server 110 or to users of the mobile device 106. For example,the third party application 124 may be associated with any organizationthat conducts transactions with or provide services to users of themobile device 106 such as a network-based marketplace. In someembodiments, the incentives provided to vehicle occupants may beredeemed or otherwise used with the third party application 124.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting various functional components of thenavigation server 110, which is provided as part of the navigationsystem 100, according to example embodiments. The mobile device 106 maybe similarly configured to include at least a portion of the functionalcomponents of the navigation server 110, consistent with someembodiments. As is understood by skilled artisans in the relevantcomputer and Internet-related arts, each component (e.g., a module orengine) illustrated in FIG. 2 may be implemented using hardware (e.g., aprocessor of a machine) or a combination of logic (e.g., executablesoftware instructions) and hardware (e.g., memory and processor of amachine) for executing the logic. Further, each component illustrated inFIG. 2 may be hosted on dedicated or shared server machines that arecommunicatively coupled to enable communications between servermachines.

The navigation server 110 is illustrated in FIG. 2 as including aninterface module 200, a routing engine 202, a re-routing module 204, adata analysis module 206, an event detection module 208, a reportingmodule 210, a verification module 212, and a communication module 214,all configured to communicate with each other (e.g., via a bus, sharedmemory, a switch, or application programming interfaces (APIs)). Each ofthe various components of the navigation application 112 may access oneor more network databases (e.g., database 120), and each of the variouscomponents of the navigation application 112 may be in communicationwith one or more of the third party applications. Further, while thecomponents depicted in FIG. 2 are discussed in the singular sense, itwill be appreciated that in other embodiments multiple instances of anyone of these components may be employed.

The interface module 200 is responsible for generating and displayingvarious GUIs for presenting information related to the navigationfunctionalities discussed herein. For example, the interface module 200may provide a GUI that allows users to input an identifier of adestination location and select from among multiple routes to thedestination location. The interface module 200 may also provide a GUIthat includes a map display that includes a display of a current routeto a destination location. The interface module 200 may update suchinterfaces to display alternative destinations, alternative routes, andmessages related thereto. The interface module 200 is further to providepresentation data to the mobile device 106 to cause the mobile device106 to display the GUI. The presentation data include content forrendering on a display of the mobile device 106 as well as instructionsto cause the mobile device 106 to render the content. The presentationdata may be stored permanently or temporarily by the mobile device 106to enable rendering. In some embodiments, the interface module 200functions as an API to receive client requests from an applicationexecuting on the mobile device 106 or from the third party application124 executing on the third party server 108.

The routing engine 202 is responsible for providing routes tonavigation-enabled devices (e.g., mobile device 106) to aid innavigating vehicles from their current location to the destinationlocation. To this end, the routing engine 202 includes a locationtracking module 216 for monitoring locations of navigation-enableddevices, and a route determination module 218 for selecting routes. Thelocation tracking module 216 determine a location of anavigation-enabled device by obtaining location information (e.g., GPSdata) from a location component (e.g., a GPS component) of thenavigation-enabled device. The location tracking module 216 logsdetermined locations in a location history field of a user accountrecord associated with the navigation-enabled device (e.g.,corresponding to a user of the navigation-enabled device).

The route determination module 218 uses the determined location of thenavigation-enabled device along with a destination location identifier(e.g., an address) to determine possible routes from the currentlocation of the navigation-enabled device to the destination location.The destination location identifier may be received as user inputentered via an interface provided by the interface module 200 or may beobtained from a location history field of an associated user accountrecord. Upon determining the possible routes, the route determinationmodule 218 determines a travel time associated with each possible routebased on route distance and, in some embodiments, traffic information.The route determination module 218 ranks possible routes by associatedtravel time and selects the route with the shortest associated traveltime as a primary route to the destination location. The routing engine202 may work in conjunction with the interface module 200 to provide adisplay of the primary route in a map display presented on thenavigation-enabled device.

The re-routing module 204 is responsible for re-routing vehicles tocontrol traffic flow. To this end, the re-routing module 204 generatesand provides detour suggestions to navigation-enabled devices embeddedin vehicles or carried by vehicle occupants. In some instances, there-routing module 204 may proactively provide detour suggestions tousers who have opted into participation in re-routing services. In someinstances, the re-routing module 204 provides detour suggestions tonavigation-enabled devices based on frustration levels of vehicleoccupants determined based on input component data obtained from inputcomponents (e.g., sensors) embedded in or coupled to navigation-enableddevices. The detour suggestions provided by the re-routing module 204may include an alternative route to the destination location or a routeto an alternative destination.

The re-routing module 204 may select alternative routes that aredifferent than the primary route of the vehicle as determined by therouting engine 202, which, in some instances, may be the current routeof the vehicle. In this way, the re-routing module 204 seeks to routevehicles along routes other than the routes with the shortest determinedtravel times, which are typically the routes most frequented byvehicles. In some instances, participating users may specify a traveltime criteria that may include an allowable difference in travel timesbetween primary routes and alternative routes. In these instances, there-routing module 204 selects alternative routes by determining deltavalues corresponding to a travel time difference between the primaryroute and possible other routes, and selecting an alternative route fromthe possible other routes that has an associated delta value inaccordance with the travel time criteria specified in a user preferencesfield of a user account record of the vehicle occupant.

The re-routing module 204 may select alternative destinations based oninformation included in a user account record of a vehicle occupant. Forexample, the re-routing module 204 may select an alternative locationfrom among multiple locations that are within a user defined distance ofthe current location or current route of the vehicle. As anotherexample, the re-routing module 204 selects an alternative location froma location history included in the user account record of the vehicleoccupant (e.g., a location other than the destination location that theuser travels to frequently). In another example, the re-routing module204 selects an alternative location from a transaction history includedin the user account record of the vehicle occupant (e.g., a locationfrom which the vehicle occupant has purchased one or more items). Insome instances, the alternative location may be a brick-and-mortarretail location.

Detour suggestions provided by the re-routing module 204 may furtherinclude one or more incentives (e.g., monetary incentives) to encouragevehicle occupants to accept detour suggestions and route their vehiclesaccordingly. As an example, users of the navigation system 100 may beprovided an option to participate in re-routing services provided by there-routing module 204. In some embodiments, users who opt-in toparticipation may be requested to contribute a tributary amount of value(e.g., in currency or reward points) toward a participation pool. Infacilitating user contributions to the participation pool, there-routing module 204 reduces a value included in an account balancefield of a user account record of the contributing user by the tributaryamount. Consistent with these embodiments, upon detecting aparticipating user's vehicle traveling along an alternative route, there-routing module 204 transfers a participatory amount of value (e.g.,currency or rewards points) to the participating user's account. Morespecifically, in transferring the participatory amount to theparticipating user's account, the re-routing module 204 reduces theaggregated amount of value in the participation pool by a participatoryamount, and increases a value in an entry of an account balance field ofa user account record corresponding to the participating user by theparticipatory amount.

In other embodiments, upon detecting a participating user's vehicletraveling along an alternative route, the re-routing module 204transfers a participatory amount of value (e.g., currency or rewardspoints) to the participating user's account (e.g., by increasing a valuein an entry of the account balance field of the corresponding useraccount record), and transfers a tributary amount of value out of useraccounts corresponding to users whose vehicles continue to travel alongprimary routes (e.g., by decreasing a value in an entry of the accountbalance field of the corresponding user account record).

The participatory amount may be a fixed amount for all participatingusers of the navigation system 100 or a variable amount determined by anincentive module 220 based on a length of the alternative route, atravel time associated with the alternative route, a travel timedifference between the alternative route and primary route, a number ofvehicles traveling along the primary route that have occupants that areusers of the navigation system 100, or a frustration level of a vehicleoccupant. The tributary amount may be a fixed amount for allparticipating users of the navigation system 100 or a variable amountdetermined by the incentive module 220 based on a number of vehiclestraveling along the primary route that have occupants that are users ofthe navigation system 100. For example, the incentive module 220 maydetermine the tributary amount by dividing the participatory amount bythe number of vehicles traveling along the primary route that haveoccupants that are users of the navigation system 100.

In instances in which the detour suggestions provided by the re-routingmodule 204 include an alternative location, the detour suggestions mayinclude a monetary incentive (e.g., a monetary reward or coupon)obtained by the incentive module 220. The incentive module 220 mayobtain a monetary incentive from a table stored in database 120 or froma third party computing system (e.g., third party server 108)corresponding to the alternative location. The obtaining of the monetaryincentive may include determining a value of the monetary incentive. Theincentive module 220 may determine the value of the monetary incentivebased on, for example, a frustration level of a vehicle occupant, adistance of the alternative location from the current location of thevehicle, or a distance of the alternative location from the currentroute of the vehicle.

The data analysis module 206 is responsible for determining frustrationlevels of vehicle occupants. More specifically, the data analysis module206 is responsible for determining frustration scores associated withnavigation-enabled devices included in traveling vehicles (e.g.,embedded in the vehicle or carried by a vehicle occupant) using inputcomponent data received from one or more input components embedded in orcoupled to navigation-enabled devices. Upon determining the frustrationscore associated with the navigation-enabled device, the data analysismodule 206 stores a record of the frustration score in a field of theuser account record of the user of the navigation-enabled device who isalso the vehicle occupant.

Individual frustration scores determined by the data analysis module 206provide a measure of frustration (e.g., a feeling of being upset orannoyed) of the user of the navigation-enabled device. Because the userof the navigation-enabled device is an occupant of the vehicle in whichthe navigation-enabled device resides, the frustration score is likelyto provide a measure of the frustration level of the user as it relatesto being in traffic. In this way, the frustration score may, in someinstances, be used as a proxy for the amount of traffic in the areasurrounding the user. Hence, the frustration scores determined by thedata analysis module 206 may, in some embodiments, be used toautomatically trigger the re-routing module 204 to provide a detoursuggestion to the corresponding navigation-enabled mobile device inorder to control traffic.

As shown, the data analysis module 206 includes a data input module 220and a scoring module 222. The data input module 220 obtains inputcomponent data (e.g., raw sensor data) from one or more input componentsembedded in or coupled to the navigation-enabled devices. The one ormore input components may, for example, include microphones, motionsensors (e.g., accelerometers, gravity sensors, gyroscopes, androtational vector sensors), and heart rate sensors. Accordingly, theinput component data may, for example, include audio data, motion data,and heart rate data. The input components may be embedded in thenavigation-enabled device, embedded in a wearable device worn by anoccupant of the vehicle and coupled to the navigation-enabled device, orembedded in the vehicle and coupled to the navigation-enabled device.

The scoring module 222 scores the input component data (e.g., raw inputcomponent data) obtained by the data input module 220, and aggregatesthe input component data scores to determine the frustration scoreassociated with the navigation-enabled device. The manner in which thescoring module 222 scores input component data depends on the type ofinput component data being scored. For example, scoring audio dataincludes determining an audio level of the audio data and scoring theaudio data based on a value of the audio level. The scoring module 222may further score the audio data by using a speech recognition algorithmto identify key words from the audio data and comparing the identifiedkeywords to a repository of keywords stored in the database 120. Therepository of keywords may, for example, include language that is knownto be commonly used when an occupant of a vehicle is frustrated,specifically frustrated while in traffic. The scoring of the audio datamay further include determining a number of identified keywords from theaudio data that are present in the repository of keywords stored in thenetwork accessible database and scoring the audio data based thereon.

As another example of scoring input component data, the scoring ofmotion data includes determining a velocity or frequency of motion ofthe navigation-enabled device from the motion data and scoring themotion data based on the velocity and/or frequency of motion. In thisexample, the motion of the navigation-enabled device may be due to avehicle occupant making a hand gesture or otherwise using their hands toexpress frustration while holding the navigation-enabled device (e.g.,pounding a vehicle steering wheel with navigation-enabled device inhand). As yet another example, the scoring of heart rate data includesdetermining a heart rate of the user based on heart rate data receivedfrom the heart rate sensor.

In some embodiments, the scoring module 222 scores the input componentdata based on a comparison of the input component data with baselinedata included in a user account record of an occupant of the vehicle.The baseline data includes previous input component data captured whilethe user is in a relaxed and non-frustrated state. Upon registering as auser with the navigation system 100, users may be instructed to capturebaseline data in such a manner. Consistent with these embodiments, thescoring module 222 scores the input component data by performingoperations including comparing values of input component data withvalues in baseline data, and calculating a delta value (e.g., adifference in values) between the input component data and the baselinedata. Further details regarding the scoring of input component databased on a comparison with baseline data are discussed below inreference to FIG. 7, according to some embodiments.

The scoring module 222 aggregates the input component data scores todetermine the overall frustration score associated with thenavigation-enabled device. As an example, in some embodiments, thescoring module 222 may sum each individual input component data score tocompute the overall frustration score. Because the navigation-enableddevice is either carried by the vehicle occupant or included in thevehicle, the frustration score provides a measure of the frustrationlevel of the vehicle occupant.

The event detection module 208 detects traffic disruption events basedon frustration levels of vehicle occupants. More specifically, the eventdetection module 208 detects traffic disruption events based onfrustration scores determined by the data analysis module 206 fromsensors embedded in or coupled to navigation-enabled devices embedded invehicles or carried by vehicle occupants. The traffic disruption eventmay include or be caused by a variety of different event typesincluding, for example, accidents, construction road closures, policeand speed traps, or a road hazard.

The event detection module 208 detects traffic disruption events bydetermining that a threshold number of a group of navigation-enableddevices have an associated frustration score (e.g., a frustration scoredetermined from input components embedded in or coupled to the device)that is above a threshold score. The threshold score may be set by anadministrator or user of the navigation system 100, or learned from ahistory of frustration scores associated with the device. The thresholdnumber of devices may depend on the number of devices in the group. Forexample, the threshold number may include a certain percentage of thegroup (e.g., 50%). The group of navigation-enabled devices may bedevices within a predefined distance of one another or devices within apredefined distance of a particular location. The predefined distancemay be a fixed distance set by an administrator of the navigation system100 or may be a variable distance based on a traffic flow rate in thearea.

The reporting module 210 generates, in an automated manner without userintervention, traffic disruption report data in response to the eventdetection module 208 detecting traffic disruption events. The trafficdisruption report data includes a record of the traffic disruptionevent, an identifier of the location of the traffic disruption event(e.g., an address or GPS coordinates), and a time stamp corresponding towhen the traffic disruption event was detected. The reporting module 210stores the traffic disruption report data in the database 120 forsubsequent access and retrieval.

The verification module 212 verifies existing traffic report data. Theexisting traffic report data may be maintained in the database 120 orretrieved from a third-party navigation system hosted by the third partyserver 108. The existing traffic report data may be based on usergenerated traffic disruption reports.

In verifying existing traffic report data, the verification module 212determines whether a traffic disruption event has been detected at alocation of the existing traffic report data based on frustration levelsof nearby vehicle occupants determined by the data analysis module 206.If the verification module 212 determines that a traffic disruptionevent has been detected, the verification module 212 issues averification of the existing traffic report data, and the existingtraffic report data is maintained. If the verification module 212determines that a traffic disruption event has not been detected, theverification module 212 issues a rejection of the existing trafficdisruption report data and as such, the existing traffic disruptionreport data may be deleted. In instances in which the existing trafficdisruption data is maintained by the navigation system 100, thenavigation system 100 may automatically remove the existing trafficdisruption data from the database 120.

The communication module 214 is responsible for publishing messages tonavigation-enabled devices among other devices. In doing so, thecommunication module 214 may utilize any one of a number of messagedelivery networks and platforms to deliver messages such as, forexample, electronic mail (email), push notifications, instant message(IM), Short Message Service (SMS), text, facsimile, or voice (e.g.,Voice over IP (VoW)) messages. For example, the communication module 214publishes messages to navigation-enabled devices to notify users of anearby traffic disruption event. As another example, the communicationmodule 214 publishes messages to navigation-enabled devices that includedetour suggestions generated by the re-routing module 204.

FIG. 3 is a data architecture diagram illustrating an example useraccount record 300, which is a data structure stored in the database 120of the navigation system 100, according to example embodiments. Asshown, the user account record 300 contains multiple fields includinguser identifier 302, demographic attributes 304, user preferences 306,transaction history 308, account balance 310, location history 312,baseline data 314, current frustration score 316, and previousfrustration scores 318. The user identifier 302 field includes anidentifier (e.g., an account number, a name, or a profile name) of theuser to which the user account record 300 corresponds.

Entries within the demographic attributes 304 field include one or moredemographic attributes that describe aspects of the user. Thedemographic attributes may, for example, include gender, age, location,employment status, education history, or the like.

Entries within the user preferences 306 field include user preferencesassociated with the functions of the navigation system 100. Userpreferences may be actively obtained from information requested from andprovided by the user, or passively obtained by monitoring interactionsof the user with the navigation system 100 (e.g., monitoring locationsvisited by the user and routes used to travel to locations). Userpreferences may, for example, relate to preferred destinations (e.g.,previously visited destinations), preferred routes to destinations(e.g., routes previously used to travel to particular locations),preference for participation in re-routing services (e.g., whether theuser has opted-in to participation in re-routing services), preferredtimes for re-routing (e.g., during the weekday, but not during theweekend), and allowable travel time differences for re-routing (e.g., atravel time difference between a current or primary route and analternative route).

The transaction history 308 field includes entries related to a historyof items purchased by the user. The transaction history 308 may, forexample, be obtained from a third party server (e.g., the third partyserver 108) hosting an online marketplace.

The account balance 310 field includes an entry corresponding to anamount of accumulated value (e.g., in a commercial currency, such as theU.S. dollar or a proprietary currency, such as “points”). Theaccumulated value may, for example, be transferred to another account ofthe user (e.g., a bank account), transferred to another user's account,redeemed for products or services, or used to purchase products orservices.

The location history 312 field includes entries corresponding toprevious locations visited by the user as determined by the locationtracking module 216. Entries within the location history 312 fieldinclude identifiers of the previous locations such as geographicalcoordinates or addresses.

The baseline data 314 includes values for input component data obtainedfrom input components embedded in or coupled to a navigation-enableddevice of the user (e.g., the mobile device 106). More specifically, thebaseline data 314 includes input component data captured while the useris in a relaxed state, which may be used as a point of reference to aidin the determination of the frustration level of the user.

The current frustration score 316 field includes an entry correspondingto the most recent frustration score of the user determined by thescoring module 222. The previous frustration scores 318, on the otherhand, include entries corresponding to previous frustration scores ofthe user determined by the scoring module 222.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method 400 for proactive reroutingof a vehicle traveling to a destination location using incentives,according to an example embodiment. The method 400 may be embodied incomputer-readable instructions for execution by one or more processorssuch that the steps of the method 400 may be performed in part or inwhole by functional components (e.g., modules) of the mobile device 106or the navigation server 110; accordingly, the method 400 is describedbelow by way of example with reference thereto. However, it shall beappreciated that the method 400 may be deployed on various otherhardware configurations and is not intended to be limited to thefunctional components of the mobile device 106 or the navigation server110.

At operation 405, the routing engine 202 determines a destinationlocation of a vehicle. The routing engine 202 determines the destinationlocation of the vehicle from information received from anavigation-enabled device (e.g., mobile device 106), which may beembedded in the vehicle or carried by an occupant of the vehicle. Forexample, in some instances, the routing engine 202 determines thedestination location of the vehicle based on input received, via aninterface presented on the navigation-enabled device provided by theinterface module 200, from the user such as an identifier (e.g., anaddress) of the destination location. In other instances, the routingengine 202 determines the destination location of the vehicle usingcalendar data (e.g., obtained from the navigation-enabled device) thatincludes a location of a calendar event.

In still other instances, the routing engine 202 determines thedestination location using a combination of current location information(e.g., GPS data) obtained from a location component (e.g., a GPScomponent) of the navigation-enabled device and location historyassociated with the vehicle. As an example, the routing engine 202 maydetermine the destination location using a location history included ina user account record of a vehicle occupant. In this example, therouting engine 202 determines the destination location based on thelocation information indicating the vehicle occupant, and thus thevehicle, is traveling in the direction of a location previously visitedby the vehicle occupant as indicated in the location history of thevehicle occupant.

At operation 410, the routing engine 202 identifies possible routes tothe destination location originating from a current location of thenavigation-enabled device. The routing engine 202 may determine acurrent location of the navigation-enabled device from user inputreceived via an interface presented on the navigation-enabled device orby querying a location component (e.g. a GPS transceiver) embedded inthe navigation-enabled device. In identifying the possible routes to thedestination location, the routing engine 202 may access map dataincluding the current location and destination location to identify eachpossible path between each location, or the routing engine 202 mayaccess previously determined routes stored in the database 120 orprovided by a third party service (e.g., operating on the third partyserver).

At operation 415, the routing engine 202 identifies a primary route fromamong the possible routes to the destination location. The primary routeis selected by the routing engine 202 from among the possible routes tothe destination location based on a travel time to the destinationlocation when using the primary route. More specifically, the routingengine 202 may identify the primary route by determining a travel timeassociated with each possible route, ranking each route according todetermined travel time, and selecting the route with the shortestassociated travel time as the primary route. The travel time may bedetermined based on a combination of the distance traveled in the routeand current traffic conditions.

At operation 420, which is optional in some embodiments, the re-routingmodule 204 selects an alternative route to the destination location. Thealternative route is a route other than the primary route. In someembodiments, the alternative route is identified by the re-routing basedon user preferences included in a user account record of an occupant ofthe vehicle. For example, the user preferences may include a constrainton an amount of additional travel time for re-routing to an alternativeroute. In these embodiments, the selecting of the alternative routeincludes determining a delta value between travel times associated withthe primary route and the other possible routes, where the delta valueis determined by taking the difference in travel times between theprimary route and another route. The selecting of the alternative routefurther includes determining that the delta value is in accordance withthe travel time constraint included in the user preference field of theuser account data record of the vehicle occupant.

At operation 425, which is also optional in some embodiments, theinterface module 200 provides the alternative route suggestion bycausing display of a user interface on the navigation-enabled devicethat includes a message including the alternative route along with anincentive for the occupant of the vehicle to direct the vehicle to thealternative route. The incentive may, for example, include an amount ofvalue corresponding to currency or rewards points. The amount of valuemay, in some instances, be a fixed amount for all users of thenavigation system 100, and in other instances, may be a variable amountdetermined, for example, based on a number of vehicles traveling alongthe primary route, a travel time associated with the alternative route,or a delta value corresponding to the difference in travel time betweenthe alternative route and the primary route.

At operation 430, the location tracking module 216 detects the vehicletraveling along the alternative route. The location tracking module 216detects the vehicle traveling along the alternative route based onlocation information (e.g., GPS data) received from a location component(e.g., GPS component) of the navigation-enabled device. Morespecifically, the location tracking module 216 compares locationinformation obtained from the navigation-enabled device with locationinformation (e.g., GPS coordinates) associated with the alternativeroute to determine that the vehicle is traveling along the alternativeroute. In some embodiments, the operation 430 may occur withoutoperations 420 and 425, and in this manner, the location tracking module216 detects the vehicle traveling along a route other than the primaryroute consistent with the methodologies referenced above.

At operation 435, the incentive module 220 updates a user account record(e.g., user account record 300) corresponding to an occupant of thevehicle in response to detecting the vehicle traveling along thealternative route. More specifically, the incentive module 220 updatesan entry in the user account record by increasing a value in the accountbalance field by a participatory quantity. In some embodiments, theparticipatory quantity is a fixed amount for all users of the navigationsystem 100. In some embodiments, the participatory quantity is avariable amount based on a number of vehicles traveling along theprimary route, a travel time associated with the alternative route, adelta value corresponding to the difference in travel time between thealternative route and the primary route, or various combinationsthereof.

At operation 440, the incentive module 220 updates, in response todetecting the vehicle traveling along the alternative route, other useraccount records corresponding to occupants of other vehicles travelingalong the primary route. In updating the other user account records, theincentive module 220 updates an entry in the user account recordscorresponding to an account balance field. In particular, the incentivemodule 220 decreases a current value of the entry in the account balancefield by a tributary quantity. In some embodiments, the tributaryquantity is a fixed amount for all users of the navigation system 100.In some embodiments, the tributary quantity is based on a numbervehicles traveling along the primary route. For example, the incentivemodule 220 may determine the tributary quantity by dividing theparticipatory quantity by the number of vehicles traveling along theprimary route.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method 500 for proactive reroutingof a traveling vehicle based on a frustration level of a vehicleoccupant, according to an example embodiment. The method 500 may beembodied in computer-readable instructions for execution by one or moreprocessors such that the steps of the method 500 may be performed inpart or in whole by functional components (e.g., modules) of the mobiledevice 106 or the navigation server 110; accordingly, the method 500 isdescribed below by way of example with reference thereto. However, itshall be appreciated that the method 500 may be deployed on variousother hardware configurations and is not intended to be limited to thefunctional components of the mobile device 106 or the navigation server110.

At operation 505, the location tracking module 216 determines a locationof a vehicle based on location information (e.g., GPS data) receivedfrom a location component (e.g., GPS data) of a navigation-enableddevice embedded in the vehicle or carried by an occupant (e.g., driveror passenger) of the vehicle.

At operation 510, the data analysis module 206 determines a frustrationscore associated with the navigation-enabled device based on inputcomponent data obtained from input components coupled to or embedded inthe navigation-enabled device. Because the navigation-enabled device isembedded in the vehicle or carried by an occupant of the vehicle, thefrustration score may also be considered to be associated with thevehicle. The frustration score provides a measure of frustration of auser of the navigation-enabled device who is an occupant of the vehicle.Further details regarding the determination of the frustration score arediscussed below in reference to FIG. 6, according to some exampleembodiments.

At operation 515, the data analysis module 206 compares the frustrationscore associated with the navigation-enabled device with a thresholdfrustration score. In some embodiments, the threshold frustration scoremay be set by the user or an administrator of the navigation system 100.In some embodiments, the frustration score threshold is based onprevious frustration scores of the vehicle occupant.

At operation 520, the data analysis module 206 determines that thefrustration score associated with the navigation-enabled devicetransgresses the frustration score threshold. For example, the dataanalysis module 206 determines that the frustration score is above thefrustration score threshold. The determination that the frustrationscore associated with the navigation-enabled device is above thefrustration score threshold provides an indication that the frustrationlevel of the vehicle occupant has risen to a level in which re-routingthe vehicle may be beneficial.

In response to determining that the frustration score transgresses thefrustration score threshold, the re-routing module 204 at operation 525obtains a detour suggestion for the vehicle. The detour suggestion mayinclude an alternative route to a destination location of the vehicle ora route to an alternative destination. In either event, the detoursuggestion is provided to remove the vehicle from its current route withthe intent of reducing the frustration score associated with thenavigation-enabled device, which is in effect reducing the frustrationlevel of the occupant of the vehicle.

In instances in which the detour suggestion includes an alternativedestination, the detour suggestion may further include a monetaryincentive for the vehicle occupant to direct the vehicle to travel tothe alternative location. For example, the detour suggestion may includea coupon, rebate, or discount to a brick-and-mortar retail locationcorresponding to the alternative destination. In instances in which thedetour suggestion includes an incentive for the vehicle occupant todirect the vehicle to the alternative destination, the obtaining of thedetour destination by the re-routing module 204 includes working inconjunction with the incentive module 220 to determine a value of themonetary incentive. As an example, the incentive module 220 maydetermine the value of the monetary incentive based on the frustrationscore associated with the navigation-enabled device such that the higherthe frustration score, the higher the monetary incentive will be. Asanother example, the incentive module 220 may determine of the value ofthe monetary incentive based on a distance from the current location ofthe vehicle to the alternative location. In some embodiments, theobtaining of the detour suggestion also includes identifying a specificbrick-and-mortar retail location based on user preferences (e.g., atransaction history or location history) included in a user accountrecord of an occupant of the vehicle.

At operation 530, the interface module 200 causes display of the detoursuggestion on the navigation-enabled device. The detour suggestion maybe presented within a user interface that includes a map display. Theuser interface may further include or may be updated to include anindication of the current location of the user, a current route of theuser, and a destination location of the user along with an alternativeroute or an alternative destination where applicable. Further, thedisplay of the detour suggestion may include a display of the monetaryincentive for the user to visit the alternative destination. An exampleof displaying the detour suggestion is illustrated in FIGS. 14A and 14B,and discussed below in reference thereto, according to some exampleembodiments.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method 600 for determining afrustration level of a vehicle occupant based on input component data,according to an example embodiment. Consistent with some embodiments,the operations of method 600 are performed as part of operation 510 ofmethod 500. The method 600 may be embodied in computer-readableinstructions for execution by one or more processors such that the stepsof the method 600 may be performed in part or in whole by functionalcomponents (e.g., modules) of a mobile device 106 or the navigationserver 110; accordingly, the method 600 is described below by way ofexample with reference thereto. However, it shall be appreciated thatthe method 600 may be deployed on various other hardware configurationsand is not intended to be limited to the functional components of themobile device 106 or the navigation server 110.

At operation 605, the data input module 220 obtains input component datafrom one or more input components embedded in or coupled to anavigation-enabled device (e.g., mobile device 106) carried by anoccupant of the vehicle or included in the vehicle. The one or moreinput components may, for example, include a microphone, a motionsensor, or a heart rate sensor. The input component data obtained fromthe one or more input components corresponds to the output of the inputcomponents. The input components may be embedded in thenavigation-enabled device, embedded in a wearable device worn by anoccupant of the vehicle and coupled to the navigation-enabled device, orembedded in the vehicle and coupled to the navigation-enabled device.

At operation 610, the scoring module 222 scores the input component datareceived from each of the one or more input components. The manner inwhich the scoring module 222 scores input component data depends on thetype of input component data being scored. For example, in someinstances, the scoring module 222 scores the input component data basedon the absolute value thereof. As an example, in instances in which theinput component data includes audio data received from a microphoneembedded in or coupled to the navigation-enabled device, the determiningof the frustration score includes determining an audio level of theaudio data and scoring the audio data based on the value of the audiolevel. The scoring module 222 may further score the audio data by usinga speech recognition algorithm to identify key words from the audio dataand comparing the identified keywords to a repository of keywords storedin a network accessible database. The repository of keywords may, forexample, include language that is known to be commonly used when anoccupant of a vehicle is frustrated, specifically frustrated whilesitting in traffic. The scoring of the audio data may further includedetermining a number of identified keywords from the audio data that arepresent in the repository of keywords stored in the network accessibledatabase, and scoring the audio data based thereon.

As another example, in instances in which the input component dataincludes motion data from a motion sensor, the scoring of the inputcomponent data may include determining a velocity or frequency of motionof the navigation-enabled device from the motion data and scoring themotion data based on the velocity or frequency of motion. As yet anotherexample, in instances in which the input component data includes heartrate data from a heart rate sensor, the scoring of the input componentdata may include determining a heart rate of the user based on heartrate data received from the heart rate sensor.

In some embodiments, the scoring module 222 scores the input componentdata based on a comparison of the input component data with baselinedata included in a user account record of an occupant of the vehicle.Further details regarding the scoring of input component data based on acomparison with baseline data are discussed below in reference to FIG.7, according to some embodiments.

At operation 615, the scoring module 222 aggregates the input componentdata scores determined at 610 to determine the overall frustration scoreassociated with the navigation-enabled device. As an example, in someembodiments, the frustration scoring module may sum each individualinput component data score to compute the overall frustration score.Because the navigation-enabled device is either carried by the vehicleoccupant or included in the vehicle, the frustration score provides ameasure of the frustration level of the vehicle occupant.

At operation 620, the scoring module 222 updates a user account recordcorresponding to an occupant of the vehicle to reflect the currentfrustration score of the user of the navigation-enabled device. Theupdating of the user account record includes adding an entry to thecurrent frustration score field of the user account record.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method 700 for scoring inputcomponent data, according to an example embodiment. Consistent with someembodiments, the operations of method 700 are performed as part ofoperation 610 of the method 600. Further, the method 700 may be repeatedfor each type of input component data received. The method 700 may beembodied in computer-readable instructions for execution by one or moreprocessors such that the steps of the method 700 may be performed inpart or in whole by functional components (e.g., modules) of a mobiledevice 106 or the navigation server 110; accordingly, the method 700 isdescribed below by way of example with reference thereto. However, itshall be appreciated that the method 600 may be deployed on variousother hardware configurations and is not intended to be limited to thefunctional components of the mobile device 106 or the navigation server110.

At operation 705, the scoring module 222 accesses a user account recordcorresponding to an occupant (e.g. a driver or passenger) of a vehiclewho is also the user of the navigation-enabled device included in thevehicle. The user account record is accessed from the database 120. Atoperation 710, the scoring module 222 accesses baseline data included inthe user account record. The baseline data includes input component datacaptured (e.g., from one or more input components embedded in thenavigation-enabled device or another device) while the user is in arelaxed non-frustrated state. The baseline data may be captured from theuser at a time when the user is establishing a user account with thenavigation system 100. In this way, the baseline data serves as a pointof comparison for analyzing and determining the current frustrationlevel of the user.

At operation 715, the scoring module 222 compares the input componentdata received from the one or more input components embedded in orcoupled to the navigation-enabled device with the baseline data includedin the user account record. For example, in instances in which the inputcomponent data includes a current heart rate of the user, the comparingof the input component data with emotional baseline data includescomparing the current heart rate with a baseline heart rate of the user.As another example, in instances in which the input component dataincludes audio data, the comparing of the input component data withbaseline data may include comparing a current audio level of the audiolevel (e.g., an audio level of the user's voice) with a baseline audiolevel (e.g., a baseline audio level of the user's voice).

At operation 720, the scoring module 222 determines a delta valuebetween the input component data and the baseline data. The delta valuecorresponds to a difference in value between the input component dataand the baseline data.

At operation 725, the scoring module 222 assigns a score to the inputcomponent data based on the delta value. In some embodiments, theassigning of the score to the input component data may include assigninga weight to the delta value based on the type of sensor from which theinput component data has been obtained.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a method 800 of obtaining a detoursuggestion for use in proactive rerouting of a traveling vehicle,according to an example embodiment. The method 800 corresponds toembodiments in which the detour suggestion includes an alternative routeto a destination location. Consistent with some embodiments, theoperations of the method 800 are performed as part of operation 525 ofthe method 500. The method 800 may be embodied in computer-readableinstructions for execution by one or more processors such that the stepsof the method 800 may be performed in part or in whole by functionalcomponents (e.g., modules) of a mobile device 106 or the navigationserver 110; accordingly, the method 800 is described below by way ofexample with reference thereto. However, it shall be appreciated thatthe method 800 may be deployed on various other hardware configurationsand is not intended to be limited to the functional components of themobile device 106 or the navigation server 110.

At operation 805, the routing engine 202 determines a destinationlocation of a vehicle. The routing engine 202 determines the destinationlocation of the vehicle from information received from anavigation-enabled device (e.g., mobile device 106), which may beembedded in the vehicle or carried by an occupant of the vehicle. Forexample, in some instances, the routing engine 202 determines thedestination location of the vehicle based on input received, via aninterface presented on the navigation-enabled device provided by theinterface module 200, from the user such as an identifier (e.g., anaddress) of the destination location. In other instances, the routingengine 202 determines the destination location of the vehicle usingcalendar data (e.g., obtained from the navigation-enabled device) thatincludes a location of a calendar event.

In still other instances, the routing engine 202 determines thedestination location using a combination of current location information(e.g., GPS data) obtained from a location component (e.g., a GPScomponent) of the navigation-enabled device and location historyassociated with the vehicle. As an example, the routing engine 202 maydetermine the destination location using a location history included ina user account record of a vehicle occupant. In this example, therouting engine 202 determines the destination location based on thelocation information indicating that the vehicle occupant, and thus thevehicle, is traveling in the direction of a location previously visitedby the vehicle occupant as indicated in the location history of thevehicle occupant

At operation 810, the location tracking module 216 determines a currentroute of the vehicle. For example, the location tracking module 216 maydetermine the current route of the vehicle based on a route selectionmade by the user via an interface provided by the interface module 200and presented on the navigation-enabled device. As another example, thelocation tracking module 216 may determine the current route of thevehicle based on location information (e.g. GPS data) obtained from alocation component (e.g. a GPS transceiver) embedded in thenavigation-enabled device.

At operation 815, the re-routing module 204 accesses an alternativeroute to the destination location. The re-routing application may accessthe alternative route based on user preference data included in a useraccount of the user. For example, the user preference data may includean allowable time delay between a current route and a re-routedalternative route. The alternative route is a route to the destinationlocation other than the current route of the vehicle.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a method 900 of obtaining a detoursuggestion for use in proactive rerouting of a traveling vehicle,according to an alternative embodiment. The method 900 corresponds toembodiments in which the detour suggestion includes an alternativedestination. Consistent with some embodiments, the operations of method900 are performed as part of operation 525 of the method 500. The method900 may be embodied in computer-readable instructions for execution byone or more processors such that the steps of the method 900 may beperformed in part or in whole by functional components (e.g., modules)of a mobile device 106 or the navigation server 110; accordingly, themethod 900 is described below by way of example with reference thereto.However, it shall be appreciated that the method 800 may be deployed onvarious other hardware configurations and is not intended to be limitedto the functional components of the mobile device 106 or the navigationserver 110.

At operation 905, the location tracking module 216 determines a currentlocation of a vehicle based on location information (e.g. GPS data)obtained from a location component (e.g. a GPS transceiver) embedded ina navigation-enabled device located in the vehicle.

At operation 910, the re-routing module 204 identifies a nearby retaillocation. More specifically, the re-routing module 204 identifies aretail location within a certain distance of the current location of thevehicle. The distance may be a user specified distance included in userpreferences of a user account record corresponding to a vehicleoccupant. In some embodiments, the identifying of the nearby retaillocation may include identifying a plurality of retail locations withina user specified distance of the current location of the vehicle, andselecting one of the retail locations based on information included in auser account record of a vehicle occupant maintained by the navigationsystem 100. For example, the retail location identified by there-routing module 204 may be a user specified location included in auser preferences field included in the user account record. As anotherexample, the retail location identified by the re-routing module 204 maybe a location previously visited by the vehicle occupant included in alocation history field of the user account record of the user.

At operation 915, the incentive module 220 obtains a monetary incentivefor the retail location. The incentive module 220 may obtain themonetary incentive directly from a third party server corresponding tothe retail location or as part of a cooperative agreement between theretail location and the navigation system 100. The obtaining of themonetary incentive includes, in some instances, determining a value ofthe monetary incentive. The incentive module 220 may determine the valueof the monetary incentive, for example, based on a distance of theretail location to the current location of the vehicle, a travel timeassociated with the retail location, or based on a frustration level ofthe vehicle occupant. The monetary incentive may include an amount ofcurrency or a coupon redeemable at the retail location.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a method for reporting a trafficdisruption event based on vehicle occupant frustration level, accordingto an example embodiment. The method 1000 may be embodied incomputer-readable instructions for execution by one or more processorssuch that the steps of the method 1000 may be performed in part or inwhole by functional components (e.g., modules) of a mobile device 106 orthe navigation server 110; accordingly, the method 1000 is describedbelow by way of example with reference thereto. However, it shall beappreciated that the method 1000 may be deployed on various otherhardware configurations and is not intended to be limited to thefunctional components of the mobile device 106 or the navigation server110.

At operation 1005, the event detection module 208 detects a trafficdisruption event at a particular location based on frustration scoresassociated with vehicles within a predefined distance of the particularlocation. The traffic disruption event may be one of several types oftraffic disruption events including for example, accidents, constructionroad closures, police and speed traps, or a road hazard. The predefineddistance may be set by an administrator of the navigation system 100.The frustration scores associated with each vehicle may be determinedbased on input component data obtained from one or more input componentsembedded in or coupled to navigation-enabled devices in the vehicles.The navigation-enabled devices may be carried by occupants of thevehicle or included in the vehicle itself, and in this way, thefrustration scores associated with each vehicle provide a measure avehicle occupant's level of frustration. Further details of determininga frustration level of a vehicle occupant are discussed above inreference to FIG. 6, according to some example embodiments. Furtherdetails regarding the detection of a traffic disruption event arediscussed below in reference to FIG. 12, according to some exampleembodiments.

At operation 1010, the reporting module 210 generates, in an automatedmanner without user intervention, traffic disruption report data inresponse to detecting the traffic disruption event. The trafficdisruption report data includes a record of the traffic disruptionevent, an identifier of the particular location, and a time stampcorresponding to when the traffic disruption event was detected. Atoperation 1015, the reporting module 210 stores the traffic disruptionreport data in the database 120.

At operation 1020, the communication module 214 provides the trafficdisruption report data to one or more other devices (e.g., mobiledevices or servers). For example, the communication module 214 maytransmit the traffic disruption data to a third party navigation service(e.g., hosted by third party server 108). As another example, thecommunication module 214 may transmit one or more traffic disruptionevent notifications to mobile devices of other users of the navigationsystem 100 to provide the traffic disruption data thereto. Thecommunication module 214 may transmit the traffic disruption eventnotification to mobile devices traveling along a route that includes theparticular location so as to alert incoming vehicles of the trafficdisruption event.

At operation 1025, the interface module 200 causes a display of a userinterface on at least one mobile device corresponding to a user of thenavigation system 100. The user interface includes a map display of acurrent location of the mobile device along with an alert or indicationof the traffic disruption event at the particular location.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating a method for verifying an existingtraffic disruption report, according to an example embodiment. Themethod 1100 may be embodied in computer-readable instructions forexecution by one or more processors such that the steps of the method1100 may be performed in part or in whole by functional components(e.g., modules) of a mobile device 106 or the navigation server 110;accordingly, the method 1100 is described below by way of example withreference thereto. However, it shall be appreciated that the method 1100may be deployed on various other hardware configurations and is notintended to be limited to the functional components of the mobile device106 or the navigation server 110.

At operation 1105, the verification module 212 accesses existing trafficdisruption report data corresponding to a particular location. Theexisting traffic disruption report data may correspond to a usergenerated traffic disruption report of a traffic disruption event. Theexisting traffic disruption report data is stored and accessed from thedatabase 120.

At operation 1110, the verification module 212 determines whether atraffic disruption event has been detected at the particular locationcorresponding to the existing traffic disruption report data based onfrustration scores associated with vehicles near the particularlocation. Further details regarding the detection of a trafficdisruption event are discussed below in reference to FIG. 12.

If at operation 1110 the verification module 212 determines that atraffic disruption event has been detected at the particular location,the verification module 212, at operation 1115, issues a verification ofthe existing traffic disruption report data and the existing trafficdisruption report data is maintained in the database 120.

If at operation 1110 the verification module 212 determines that atraffic disruption event has not been detected at the particularlocation, the verification module 212 at operation 1120 flags theexiting traffic disruption report data as being invalid. The navigationservice 104 may delete the existing traffic disruption report data inresponse to the verification module 212 flagging the existing trafficdisruption report data.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating a method 1200 for detecting atraffic disruption event based on vehicle occupant frustration level,according to an example embodiment. The method 1200 may be embodied incomputer-readable instructions for execution by one or more processorssuch that the steps of the method 1200 may be performed in part or inwhole by functional components (e.g., modules) of a mobile device 106 orthe navigation server 110; accordingly, the method 1200 is describedbelow by way of example with reference thereto. However, it shall beappreciated that the method 1200 may be deployed on various otherhardware configurations and is not intended to be limited to thefunctional components of the mobile device 106 or the navigation server110.

At operation 1205, the location tracking module 216 identifies one ormore vehicles near the particular location. More specifically, thelocation tracking module 216 identifies navigation-enabled deviceswithin a predefined distance of the particular location. The predefineddistance may be set by an administrator of the navigation system 100.The navigation-enabled devices near the particular location may beidentified based on location information (e.g., GPS data) obtained fromlocation components (e.g., GPS components) embedded in the mobiledevices.

At operation 1210, the event detection module 208 accesses frustrationscores associated with each of the nearby navigation-enabled devicesdetermined by the scoring module 222 based on input component dataobtained from one or more input components embedded in or coupled to thenearby devices. Further details regarding the determination offrustration scores are discussed above in reference to FIG. 6 accordingto some example embodiments.

At operation 1215, the analysis module identifies one or more of thenearby devices with frustration scores exceeding a threshold frustrationscore. The threshold frustration score may be unique to eachnavigation-enabled device and may be based on emotional baseline dataincluded in a user record of occupants of the vehicle who are using thenavigation-enabled devices. In some embodiments, the thresholdfrustration score is set by an administrator of the navigation system100.

At operation 1220, the event detection module 208 determines that athreshold number of devices have a frustration score exceeding thefrustration score threshold. The threshold number of devices may includeor be based on a percentage of nearby devices such that a certainpercentage of the nearby devices are identified as having a frustrationscore exceeding the frustration score threshold. For example, in someembodiments, the event detection module 208 may, at operation 1220,determine that a majority of the nearby devices have a frustration scorethat exceeds the frustration score threshold. It shall be noted that thethreshold number of nearby devices having the frustration scoreexceeding the threshold frustration score is not limited to a majorityand may in other embodiments include other percentages that may be aminority of devices.

At operation 1225, the event detection module 208 determines a trafficdisruption event exists at the particular location based on determiningthat a threshold number of devices have a frustration score exceedingthe frustration score threshold.

FIG. 13A is an interface diagram illustrating a user interface 1300displaying a current route 1302 to a destination location 1304,according to an example embodiment. The user interface 1300 may, forexample, be presented on a navigation-enabled device such as the mobiledevice 106. As shown, the user interface 1300 includes a map display ofan area surrounding and including a current location 1306 of a vehicle.The map display also includes the current route 1302 of the vehicle tothe destination location 1304. The current location 1306 of the vehicleis determined by the location tracking module 216 based on locationinformation (e.g., GPS data) received from a location component (e.g., aGPS component) embedded in a navigation device (e.g., mobile device 106)located in the vehicle (e.g., carried by an occupant of the vehicle orincluded as a built-in component of the vehicle). In some instances, thecurrent route 1302 of the vehicle may be one of several routesdetermined by the routing engine 202 from a starting location of thevehicle to the user selected destination location 1304 and selected by auser of the navigation device. In other instances, the current route1302 and destination location 1304 may be inferred by the routing engine202 based on a combination of location information (e.g., GPS data) andcalendar data (e.g., a calendar event) obtained from the navigationdevice. In still other instances, the current route 1302 and destinationlocation 1304 may be inferred by the routing engine 202 based on acombination of location information (e.g., GPS data) obtained from thenavigation device and a location history stored in a user account recordmaintained in the database 120.

FIG. 13B is an interface diagram illustrating the user interface 1300updated to display an alternative route notification 1308, according toan example embodiment. In some embodiments, the alternative routenotification 1308 may be displayed in response to the re-routing module204 determining that the current route 1302 to the destination location1304 is a primary route to the destination location 1304. For example,the re-routing module 204 may determine that the current route 1302 is aprimary route based on determining that, of the multiple possible routesfrom the current location 1306 of the vehicle to the destinationlocation 1304, the current route 1302 has the shortest associated traveltime (e.g., based on a combination of a length of the route and trafficinformation along the route).

In other embodiments, the alternative route notification 1308 may bedisplayed in response to the data analysis module 206 determining that afrustration score associated with the vehicle (e.g., determined based oninput component data received from input components associated with thenavigation device in the vehicle) is above a threshold. In this way, thealternative route notification 1308 is provided in an effort to reducethe current frustration score associated with the vehicle, which may becaused by traffic conditions along the current route 1302.

In FIG. 13B, the alternative route notification 1308 is displayed inconjunction with the map display, although the alternative routenotification 1308 is not limited to such a manner of display, and may,in other embodiments, be displayed in another manner such as in aseparate interface or window or as a push notification. The alternativeroute notification 1308 includes interactive elements (e.g., buttons)that allow a user, through appropriate input or manipulation, to declinetravel on the alternative route (displayed as a “NO” button), accepttravel on the alternative route (displayed as a “YES” button), or viewthe alternative route on the map display (displayed as a “SHOW” button).If the user selects the “NO” button, no further action is taken and thevehicle continues along the current route 1302 (either through action ofa driver in a manned vehicle or in an automated process performed by anonboard computer system embedded in an autonomous vehicle). If the userselects the “YES” button or if the vehicle is determined to be travelingalong the alternative route (e.g., based on location informationobtained from the navigation device), the incentive module 220 updatesthe user account record of a vehicle occupant to reflect an increase inaccount balance based on participation in the rerouting service, andalso updates the user account records of occupants of other vehiclestraveling along the current route 1302 to reflect a decrease in accountbalance.

In response to the user selecting the “SHOW” button, the user interface1300 is further updated to display the suggested alternative route, asillustrated in FIG. 13C. As shown in FIG. 13C, the map display of theuser interface 1300 has been updated to display alternative route 1310.The alternative route 1310 is a path from the current location 1306 ofthe vehicle to the destination location 1304 that is different than thecurrent route 1302. The alternative route 1310 may be selected by there-routing module 204 from among a plurality of routes to thedestination location 1304 from the current location 1306 of the vehicledetermined by the routing engine 202 based on entries in a userpreferences field of a user account record (e.g., user account record300) of an occupant of the vehicle. In particular, the alternative route1310 may be selected based on an allowable travel time deviation or atotal travel time specified by the user and included as an entry in theuser preferences field of the user account record.

FIG. 14A is an interface diagram illustrating a user interface 1400displaying a current location 1402 of a vehicle and a detour suggestion1404 for an alternative destination, according to an example embodiment.The user interface 1400 may, for example, be presented on anavigation-enabled device such as the mobile device 106. As shown, theuser interface 1400 includes a map display of an area surrounding andincluding a current location 1402 of a vehicle. The current location1402 of the vehicle is determined by the location tracking module 216based on location information (e.g., GPS data) received from a locationcomponent (e.g., a GPS component) embedded in a navigation-enableddevice (e.g., mobile device 106) located in the vehicle (e.g., carriedby an occupant of the vehicle or included as a built-in component of thevehicle).

In FIG. 14A, the detour suggestion 1404 is displayed in conjunction withthe map display of the user interface 1400, though the detour suggestion1404 is not limited to such a manner of display, and may, in otherembodiments, be displayed in another manner such as in a separateinterface or window or as a push notification. The detour suggestion1404 is presented in the user interface 1400 in response to determininga frustration score associated with the vehicle (e.g., a frustrationscore associated with a user of a navigation-enabled device in thevehicle) is above a threshold. The detour suggestion 1404 includesinteractive elements (e.g., buttons) that allow a user, throughappropriate input or manipulation, to decline travel to the alternativedestination (displayed as a “DECLINE” button), accept travel to thealternative destination (displayed as a “ACCEPT” button), or view thedetour route to the alternative destination on the map display(displayed as a “SHOW DETOUR ROUTE” button). If the user selects the“DECLINE” button, no further action is taken and the vehicle continuesalong the current route 1402 (either through action of a driver in amanned vehicle or in an automated process performed by an onboardcomputer system embedded in an autonomous vehicle). If the user selectsthe “ACCEPT” button, an incentive (e.g., a coupon) is provided to theuser, and the vehicle is routed to the alternative destination (eitherthrough action of a driver in a manned vehicle or in an automatedprocess performed by an onboard computer system embedded in anautonomous vehicle in response to selection of the button).

In response to the user selecting the “SHOW DETOUR ROUTE” button, theuser interface 1400 is further updated to display the detour route tothe alternative destination, as illustrated in FIG. 14B. As illustratedin FIG. 14B, the updated user interface 1400 includes a detour route1406 to an alternative destination 1408. The detour route 1406 may bedetermined by the routing engine 202 based on a travel time associatedwith the route. For example, the routing engine 202 may select the routefrom the current location of the vehicle 1402 to the alternativedestination 1408 with the shortest associated travel time. In someembodiments, the alternative destination 1408 is selected based oninformation included in a user account record of an occupant in thevehicle. For example, the alternative destination 1408 may be selectedbased on user preferences (e.g., a brick-and-mortar retail locationselected within an allowable distance of the current location of thevehicle specified by the user), from a location history of the user(e.g., a location previously traveled to by the user), or from atransaction history of the user (e.g., a location from which the userpreviously purchased an item). While the alternative destination 1408illustrated in FIG. 14B corresponds to a brick-and-mortar retaillocation, alternative destinations included in detour suggestions arenot necessarily limited to such locations.

Machine Architecture

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine 1500,according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from amachine-readable medium (e.g., a machine-readable storage medium) andperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.Specifically, FIG. 15 shows a diagrammatic representation of the machine1500 in the example form of a computer system, within which instructions1516 (e.g., software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, orother executable code) for causing the machine 1500 to perform any oneor more of the methodologies discussed herein may be executed. Theseinstructions transform the general, non-programmed machine into aspecially configured machine programmed to carry out the described andillustrated functions described herein. Consistent with someembodiments, the machine 1500 may correspond to the mobile device 106 orthe navigation server 110.

The machine 1500 may operate as a standalone device or may be coupled(e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, themachine 1500 may operate in the capacity of a server machine or a clientmachine in a server-client network environment, or as a peer machine ina peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. By way ofnon-limiting example, the machine 1500 may comprise or correspond to aserver computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), a tabletcomputer, a laptop computer, a netbook, a set-top box (STB), a personaldigital assistant (PDA), an entertainment media system, a cellulartelephone, a smart phone, a mobile device, a wearable device (e.g., asmart watch), a smart home device (e.g., a smart appliance), other smartdevices, a web appliance, a network router, a network switch, a networkbridge, or any machine capable of executing the instructions 1516,sequentially or otherwise, that specify actions to be taken by machine1500. Further, while only a single machine 1500 is illustrated, the term“machine” shall also be taken to include a collection of machines 1500that individually or jointly execute the instructions 1516 to performany one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The machine 1500 may include processors, memory 1530, and input andoutput (I/O) components 1550, which may be configured to communicatewith each other such as via a bus 1502. In an example embodiment, theprocessors 1510 (e.g., a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a ReducedInstruction Set Computing (RISC) processor, a Complex Instruction SetComputing (CISC) processor, a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a DigitalSignal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit(ASIC), a Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC), another processor,or any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, processor1512 and processor 1514 that may execute instructions 1516. The term“processor” is intended to include multi-core processor that maycomprise two or more independent processors (sometimes referred to as“cores”) that may execute instructions contemporaneously. Although FIG.15 shows multiple processors, the machine 1500 may include a singleprocessor with a single core, a single processor with multiple cores(e.g., a multi-core process), multiple processors with a single core,multiple processors with multiples cores, or any combination thereof.

The memory/storage 1530 may include a memory 1532, such as a mainmemory, or other memory storage, and a storage unit 1536, bothaccessible to the processors 1510 such as via the bus 1502. The storageunit 1536 and memory 1532 store the instructions 1516 embodying any oneor more of the methodologies or functions described herein. Theinstructions 1516 may also reside, completely or partially, within thememory 1532, within the storage unit 1536, within at least one of theprocessors 1510 (e.g., within the processor's cache memory), or anysuitable combination thereof, during execution thereof by the machine1000. Accordingly, the memory 1532, the storage unit 1536, and thememory of processors 1510 are examples of machine-readable media.

As used herein, “machine-readable medium” means a device able to storeinstructions and data temporarily or permanently and may include, but isnot be limited to, random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM),buffer memory, flash memory, optical media, magnetic media, cachememory, other types of storage (e.g., Erasable Programmable Read-OnlyMemory (EEPROM)) and/or any suitable combination thereof. The term“machine-readable medium” should be taken to include a single medium ormultiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, orassociated caches and servers) able to store instructions 1016. The term“machine-readable medium” shall also be taken to include any medium, orcombination of multiple media, that is capable of storing instructions(e.g., instructions 1516) for execution by a machine (e.g., machine1500), such that the instructions, when executed by one or moreprocessors of the machine 1500 (e.g., processors 1510), cause themachine 1500 to perform any one or more of the methodologies describedherein. Accordingly, a “machine-readable medium” refers to a singlestorage apparatus or device, as well as “cloud-based” storage systems orstorage networks that include multiple storage apparatus or devices. Theterm “machine-readable medium” excludes signals per se.

The I/O components 1550 may include a wide variety of components toreceive input, provide output, produce output, transmit information,exchange information, capture measurements, and so on. The specific I/Ocomponents 1550 that are included in a particular machine will depend onthe type of machine. For example, portable machines such as mobilephones will likely include a touch input device or other such inputmechanisms, while a headless server machine will likely not include sucha touch input device. It will be appreciated that the I/O components1550 may include many other components that are not shown in FIG. 15.The I/O components 1550 are grouped according to functionality merelyfor simplifying the following discussion and the grouping is in no waylimiting. In various example embodiments, the I/O components 1550 mayinclude output components 1552 and input components 1554. The outputcomponents 1552 may include visual components (e.g., a display such as aplasma display panel (PDP), a light emitting diode (LED) display, aliquid crystal display (LCD), a projector, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)),acoustic components (e.g., speakers), haptic components (e.g., avibratory motor, resistance mechanisms), other signal generators, and soforth. The input components 1554 may include alphanumeric inputcomponents (e.g., a keyboard, a touch screen configured to receivealphanumeric input, a photo-optical keyboard, or other alphanumericinput components), point based input components (e.g., a mouse, atouchpad, a trackball, a joystick, a motion sensor, or other pointinginstrument), tactile input components (e.g., a physical button, a touchscreen that provides location and/or force of touches or touch gestures,or other tactile input components), audio input components (e.g., amicrophone), and the like.

In further example embodiments, the I/O components 1550 may includebiometric components 1556, motion components 1558, environmentalcomponents 1560, or position components 1562, among a wide array ofother components. For example, the biometric components 1556 may includecomponents to detect expressions (e.g., hand expressions, facialexpressions, vocal expressions, body gestures, or eye tracking), measurebiosignals (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature,perspiration, or brain waves), identify a person (e.g., voiceidentification, retinal identification, facial identification,fingerprint identification, or electroencephalogram basedidentification), and the like. The motion components 1558 may includeacceleration sensor components (e.g., accelerometer), gravitation sensorcomponents, rotation sensor components (e.g., gyroscope), and so forth.The environmental components 1560 may include, for example, illuminationsensor components (e.g., photometer), temperature sensor components(e.g., one or more thermometer that detect ambient temperature),humidity sensor components, pressure sensor components (e.g.,barometer), acoustic sensor components (e.g., one or more microphonesthat detect background noise), proximity sensor components (e.g.,infrared sensors that detect nearby objects), gas sensors (e.g., gasdetection sensors to detection concentrations of hazardous gases forsafety or to measure pollutants in the atmosphere), or other componentsthat may provide indications, measurements, or signals corresponding toa surrounding physical environment. The position components 1562 mayinclude location sensor components (e.g., a GPS receiver component),altitude sensor components (e.g., altimeters or barometers that detectair pressure from which altitude may be derived), orientation sensorcomponents (e.g., magnetometers), and the like.

Communication may be implemented using a wide variety of technologies.The I/O components 1550 may include communication components 1564operable to couple the machine 1500 to a network 1580 or devices 1570via coupling 1582 and coupling 1572, respectively. For example, thecommunication components 1564 may include a network interface componentor other suitable device to interface with the network 1580. In furtherexamples, communication components 1564 may include wired communicationcomponents, wireless communication components, cellular communicationcomponents, Near Field Communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth®components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components, and othercommunication components to provide communication via other modalities.The devices 1570 may be another machine or any of a wide variety ofperipheral devices (e.g., a peripheral device coupled via a UniversalSerial Bus (USB)).

Moreover, the communication components 1564 may detect identifiers orinclude components operable to detect identifiers. For example, thecommunication components 1564 may include Radio Frequency Identification(RFID) tag reader components, NFC smart tag detection components,optical reader components (e.g., an optical sensor to detectone-dimensional bar codes such as Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code,multi-dimensional bar codes such as Quick Response (QR) code, Azteccode, Data Matrix, Dataglyph, MaxiCode, PDF417, Ultra Code, UCC RSS-2Dbar code, and other optical codes), or acoustic detection components(e.g., microphones to identify tagged audio signals). In addition, avariety of information may be derived via the communication components1564, such as location via Internet Protocol (IP) geo-location, locationvia Wi-Fi® signal triangulation, location via detecting a NFC beaconsignal that may indicate a particular location, and so forth.

Transmission Medium

In various example embodiments, one or more portions of the network 1580may be an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a virtual privatenetwork (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wireless LAN (WLAN), a widearea network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), a metropolitan area network(MAN), the Internet, a portion of the Internet, a portion of the PublicSwitched Telephone Network (PSTN), a plain old telephone service (POTS)network, a cellular telephone network, a wireless network, a Wi-Fi®network, another type of network, or a combination of two or more suchnetworks. For example, the network 1580 or a portion of the network 1580may include a wireless or cellular network and the coupling 1582 may bea Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) connection, a Global System forMobile communications (GSM) connection, or other type of cellular orwireless coupling. In this example, the coupling 1582 may implement anyof a variety of types of data transfer technology, such as SingleCarrier Radio Transmission Technology (1×RTT), Evolution-Data Optimized(EVDO) technology, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) technology,Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology, thirdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) including 3G, fourth generationwireless (4G) networks, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System(UMTS), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Worldwide Interoperability forMicrowave Access (WiMAX), Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard, othersdefined by various standard setting organizations, other long rangeprotocols, or other data transfer technology.

The instructions 1516 may be transmitted or received over the network1580 using a transmission medium via a network interface device (e.g., anetwork interface component included in the communication components1564) and utilizing any one of a number of well-known transfer protocols(e.g., hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP)). Similarly, the instructions1516 may be transmitted or received using a transmission medium via thecoupling 1572 (e.g., a peer-to-peer coupling) to devices 1570. The term“transmission medium” shall be taken to include any intangible mediumthat is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions 1516 forexecution by the machine 1500, and includes digital or analogcommunications signals or other intangible medium to facilitatecommunication of such software.

Modules, Components and Logic

Certain embodiments are described herein as including logic or a numberof components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules may constitute eithersoftware modules (e.g., code embodied on a machine-readable medium or ina transmission signal) or hardware modules. A hardware module is atangible unit capable of performing certain operations and may beconfigured or arranged in a certain manner. In example embodiments, oneor more computer systems (e.g., a standalone, client, or server computersystem) or one or more hardware modules of a computer system (e.g., aprocessor or a group of processors) may be configured by software (e.g.,an application or application portion) as a hardware module thatoperates to perform certain operations as described herein.

In various embodiments, a hardware module may be implementedmechanically or electronically. For example, a hardware module maycomprise dedicated circuitry or logic that is permanently configured(e.g., as a special-purpose processor, such as a field-programmable gatearray (FPGA) or an ASIC) to perform certain operations. A hardwaremodule may also comprise programmable logic or circuitry (e.g., asencompassed within a general-purpose processor or other programmableprocessor) that is temporarily configured by software to perform certainoperations. It will be appreciated that the decision to implement ahardware module mechanically, in dedicated and permanently configuredcircuitry, or in temporarily configured circuitry (e.g., configured bysoftware) may be driven by cost and time considerations.

Accordingly, the term “hardware module” should be understood toencompass a tangible entity, be that an entity that is physicallyconstructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired) or temporarilyconfigured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner and/or toperform certain operations described herein. Considering embodiments inwhich hardware modules are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed),each of the hardware modules need not be configured or instantiated atany one instance in time. For example, where the hardware modulescomprise a general-purpose processor configured using software, thegeneral-purpose processor may be configured as respective differenthardware modules at different times. Software may accordingly configurea processor, for example, to constitute a particular hardware module atone instance of time and to constitute a different hardware module at adifferent instance of time.

Hardware modules can provide information to, and receive informationfrom, other hardware modules. Accordingly, the described hardwaremodules may be regarded as being communicatively coupled. Where multipleof such hardware modules exist contemporaneously, communications may beachieved through signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuitsand buses that connect the hardware modules). In embodiments in whichmultiple hardware modules are configured or instantiated at differenttimes, communications between such hardware modules may be achieved, forexample, through the storage and retrieval of information in memorystructures to which the multiple hardware modules have access. Forexample, one hardware module may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it iscommunicatively coupled. A further hardware module may then, at a latertime, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware modules may also initiate communications with input oroutput devices, and can operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation).

The various operations of example methods described herein may beperformed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented modulesthat operate to perform one or more operations or functions. The modulesreferred to herein may, in some example embodiments, compriseprocessor-implemented modules.

Similarly, the methods described herein may be at least partiallyprocessor-implemented. For example, at least some of the operations of amethod may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented modules. The performance of certain of theoperations may be distributed among the one or more processors, not onlyresiding within a single machine, but deployed across a number ofmachines. In some example embodiments, the processor or processors maybe located in a single location (e.g., within a home environment, anoffice environment, or a server farm), while in other embodiments theprocessors may be distributed across a number of locations.

The one or more processors may also operate to support performance ofthe relevant operations in a “cloud computing” environment or as a“software as a service” (SaaS). For example, at least some of theoperations may be performed by a group of computers (as examples ofmachines including processors), with these operations being accessiblevia a network (e.g., the Internet) and via one or more appropriateinterfaces (e.g., APIs).

Electronic Apparatus and System

Example embodiments may be implemented in digital electronic circuitry,or in computer hardware, firmware, or software, or in combinations ofthem. Example embodiments may be implemented using a computer programproduct, for example, a computer program tangibly embodied in aninformation carrier, for example, in a machine-readable medium forexecution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus,for example, a programmable processor, a computer, or multiplecomputers.

A computer program can be written in any form of programming language,including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed inany form, including as a standalone program or as a module, subroutine,or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computerprogram can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiplecomputers at one site, or distributed across multiple sites andinterconnected by a communication network.

In example embodiments, operations may be performed by one or moreprogrammable processors executing a computer program to performfunctions by operating on input data and generating output. Methodoperations can also be performed by, and apparatus of exampleembodiments may be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry(e.g., an FPGA or an ASIC).

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other. Inembodiments deploying a programmable computing system, it will beappreciated that both hardware and software architectures meritconsideration. Specifically, it will be appreciated that the choice ofwhether to implement certain functionality in permanently configuredhardware (e.g., an ASIC), in temporarily configured hardware (e.g., acombination of software and a programmable processor), or in acombination of permanently and temporarily configured hardware may be adesign choice. Below are set out hardware (e.g., machine) and softwarearchitectures that may be deployed, in various example embodiments.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been describedwith reference to specific example embodiments, it will be evident thatvarious modifications and changes may be made to these embodimentswithout departing from the broader scope of the inventive subjectmatter. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regardedin an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. The accompanyingdrawings that form a part hereof show by way of illustration, and not oflimitation, specific embodiments in which the subject matter may bepracticed. The embodiments illustrated are described in sufficientdetail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the teachingsdisclosed herein. Other embodiments may be used and derived therefrom,such that structural and logical substitutions and changes may be madewithout departing from the scope of this disclosure. This DetailedDescription, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and thescope of various embodiments is defined only by the appended claims,along with the full range of equivalents to which such claims areentitled.

Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred toherein, individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merelyfor convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope ofthis application to any single invention or inventive concept if morethan one is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments havebeen illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that anyarrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coverany and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent, to those of skill inthe art, upon reviewing the above description.

All publications, patents, and patent documents referred to in thisdocument are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety, asthough individually incorporated by reference. In the event ofinconsistent usages between this document and those documents soincorporated by reference, the usage in the incorporated referencesshould be considered supplementary to that of this document; forirreconcilable inconsistencies, the usage in this document controls.

In this document, the terms “a” or “an” are used, as is common in patentdocuments, to include one or more than one, independent of any otherinstances or usages of “at least one” or “one or more.” In thisdocument, the term “or” is used to refer to a nonexclusive or, such that“A or B” includes “A but not B,” “B but not A,” and “A and B,” unlessotherwise indicated. In the appended claims, the terms “including” and“in which” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respectiveterms “comprising” and “wherein.” Also, in the following claims, theterms “including” and “comprising” are open-ended; that is, a system,device, article, or process that includes elements in addition to thoselisted after such a term in a claim are still deemed to fall within thescope of that claim.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method implemented by one or more computingdevices, the method comprising: receiving, at the one or more computingdevices, a user generated traffic disruption report from at least one ofa plurality of navigation-enabled devices, the user generated trafficdisruption report identifying a traffic disruption event at a particularlocation; receiving, at the one or more computing devices, inputcomponent data from a plurality of navigation-enabled devices; detectingthe traffic disruption event at the particular location based at leastin part on the user generated traffic disruption report and the inputcomponent data obtained from the plurality of navigation enableddevices; and causing output of an indication of the traffic disruptionevent to navigation-enabled devices traveling along a route associatedwith the particular location of the traffic disruption event.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the traffic disruption event comprises atraffic accident at the particular location.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the traffic disruption event comprises a police speed trap atthe particular location.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the inputcomponent data comprises GPS data detected by respective GPS sensors ofthe plurality of navigation-enabled devices.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the input component data comprises motion data detected byrespective motion sensors of the plurality of navigation-enableddevices.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the input component datacomprises heart rate data detected by respective heart rate sensorsassociated with the plurality of navigation-enabled devices.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the input component data comprises audio datadetected by respective microphones associated with the plurality ofnavigation-enabled devices.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein thedetecting the traffic disruption event includes verifying the usergenerated traffic disruption report based on the input component data.9. The method of claim 1, further comprising causing output of analternative route suggestion to the navigation-enabled devices travelingalong the route associated with the particular location of the trafficdisruption event.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the alternativeroute suggestion includes at least one of a map or driving directionsfor the alternative route to a destination location.
 11. A systemcomprising: one or more processors of a machine; and one or moremachine-readable mediums storing instructions to configure the one ormore processors to perform operations comprising: receiving a usergenerated traffic disruption report from at least one of a plurality ofnavigation-enabled devices, the user generated traffic disruption reportidentifying a traffic disruption event at a particular location;receiving input component data from a plurality of navigation-enableddevices; detecting the traffic disruption event at the particularlocation based at least in part on the user generated traffic disruptionreport and the input component data obtained from the plurality ofnavigation enabled devices; and causing output of an indication of thetraffic disruption event to navigation-enabled devices traveling along aroute associated with the particular location of the traffic disruptionevent.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the traffic disruption eventcomprises a traffic accident at the particular location.
 13. The systemof claim 11, wherein the traffic disruption event comprises a policespeed trap at the particular location.
 14. The system of claim 11,wherein the input component data comprises GPS data detected byrespective GPS sensors of the plurality of navigation-enabled devices.15. The system of claim 11, wherein the input component data comprisesmotion data detected by respective motion sensors of the plurality ofnavigation-enabled devices.
 16. The system of claim 11, wherein thedetecting the traffic disruption event includes verifying the usergenerated traffic disruption report based on the input component data.17. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium embodyinginstructions that, when executed by a machine, cause the machine toperform operations comprising: receiving a user generated trafficdisruption report from at least one of a plurality of navigation-enableddevices, the user generated traffic disruption report identifying atraffic disruption event at a particular location; receiving inputcomponent data from a plurality of navigation-enabled devices; detectingthe traffic disruption event at the particular location based at leastin part on the user generated traffic disruption report and the inputcomponent data obtained from the plurality of navigation enableddevices; and causing output of an indication of the traffic disruptionevent to navigation-enabled devices traveling along a route associatedwith the particular location of the traffic disruption event.
 18. Thenon-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein thetraffic disruption event comprises a traffic accident at the particularlocation or a police speed trap at the particular location.
 19. Thenon-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein theinput component data comprises GPS data detected by respective GPSsensors of the plurality of navigation-enabled devices.
 20. Thenon-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein thedetecting the traffic disruption event includes verifying the usergenerated traffic disruption report based on the input component data.